Bundee Aki’s decisive try just short of the hour mark that gave Connacht an unexpected victory in their Irish derby has plunged Munster into a hole that has added significance to their next Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture against Ulster.
The low scoring and ill-tempered match at the Sportsground in Galway was one of just two matches allowed to go ahead over the New Year weekend as Covid-19 continued to impact on the URC schedule. It was the second defeat for South African coach Johan van Graan’s team in just six matches and it leaves them off the pace in the battle for a prime position on the log.
Almost inevitably, it has also introduced some negative comments on the timing of Van Graan’s recent announcement that he would be taking up a contract with English club Bath at the end of the season. It was one of the reasons he was required to defend his team’s commitment at the post-match press conference in Galway.
“It was pretty clear out there that our hearts and souls were in there as coaching staff and players. We lost the game by one score,” was Van Graan’s response to a question about whether minds might be drifting because of both Van Graan and assistant coach Stephen Larkham’s announcements that they will be moving on.
Of course, Munster does have plenty of excuses for their recent poor form, as it should not be forgotten that a sizeable proportion of their squad was stranded in South Africa for some time in early December due to the travel restrictions introduced by overseas governments in response to the discovery of the new Covid variant.
Like many teams, Munster have been additionally hindered by the stop-start nature of the competition, and to put it simply, his players just haven’t had much rugby recently and it is hard to pick up momentum.
“We’ve had a helter-skelter period for the last three months,” said Van Graan. “It’s the same for all the Irish teams. It’s nothing new that we’ve suddenly become used to. We just have to get guys on the pitch and do our best to get playing.”
But if Saturday’s scheduled fixture against third-placed Ulster goes ahead, the hosts will have to hit their straps quickly for they face formidable opposition and will see a sizeable gap between them and the leading pack start to open if they lose. On the plus side for them, Ulster, who have played one more game than they have, have also not had much rugby recently, and perhaps the game time picked up in the tight defeat to Connacht will benefit them.
Connacht, who would have been hosting the Stormers this coming weekend had it not been for the adjustments to the schedule forced by the Covid uncertainty, meanwhile confirmed with their win just how difficult they can be on their home field and now have the same number of log points, 20, that Munster does. But Munster does have two games in hand on them.
The other game that took place at the weekend was the Welsh derby between Scarlets and Ospreys, with the latter failing in their attempt to improve their fourth position on the overall log as their drought in Llanelli, stretching back to 2015, continued.
A close game was decided by a late Johnny McNicholl try after a spirited start from Ospreys, who went ahead early to a brace of Rhys Webb tries before they surrendered their initiative.
There are just four games scheduled for the coming weekend due to the postponement of the initial games featuring South African opponents until later in the season. Apart from the Ulster visit to Limerick, Edinburgh’s home game against Cardiff could have an impact on the top positions on the log as leaders Leinster, one point ahead of Edinburgh, won’t be seeing action again until later in the month.
Weekend Vodacom United Rugby Championship results
Connacht 10-8 Munster
Scarlets 22-19 Ospreys
The coming round of fixtures
Edinburgh v Cardiff (Edinburgh, Saturday 17.00)
Glasgow Warriors v Ospreys (Glasgow, Saturday 19.15)
Scarlets v Dragons (Llanelli, Saturday 21.35)
Munster v Ulster (Limerick, Saturday 21.35)
